System and method for remotely updating cable modem software

ABSTRACT

A telecommunication network device for implementing the DOCSIS standard during a transition from a coaxial cable network to a fiber-optic network is described. The device includes a memory including installed firmware for implementing a telecommunication gateway function in accordance with the DOCSIS telecommunication standard and a processor configured to update the installed firmware by downloading the update from a first TFTP server over a coaxial cable network, wherein the processor is further configured to update the installed firmware by downloading the update from a second TFTP server over a fiber-optic network.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser.No. 61/792,283; filed Mar. 15, 2013, and entitled System and Method forRemotely Updating Cable Modem Software, the contents of which are herebyincorporated by reference in their entirety.

FIELD OF INVENTION

This invention generally relates to the field of cable modem softwareand, more particularly, to a system and method for upgrading firmware ina network device, such as a cable modern, during a transition from acoaxial cable based network to a fiber network.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Cable modems allow users to access the Internet via their cabletelevision service. Such access has typically been provided over acoaxial cable, typically implemented within a hybrid-fiber coaxial (HFC)infrastructure. An HFC network may carry a variety of services,including but not limited to analog TV, digital TV (SDTV or HDTV), videoon demand, telephony, and high-speed data that demand transmission of alarge amount of data at high speeds. Services on these systems arecarried on radio frequency (RF) signals in the 5 MHz to 1000 MHzfrequency band and currently can transfer data at 250 Mbps or higher.

Internet access in these systems is provided through the cable modernlocated in a location that typically comprises a home or business, incommunication with a cable modem termination system (CMTS). The cablemodem termination system provides cable services to a large number ofcable subscribers, typically between 4,000 and 150,000 or more. Atypical CMTS is a device which hosts downstream and upstream traffic.While downstream and upstream traffic travel on a shared coaxial cableline in the customer premises, and connect to a single connection on thecable modern, it is typical for the CMTS to have separate connectors fordownstream and for upstream traffic. Traffic destined for the cablemodem from the Internet, known as downstream traffic, is carried in IPpackets encapsulated according to a Data Over Cable Service InterfaceSpecification (DOCSIS) standard.

Cable modems typically include software implemented according to theDOCSIS standard, an international telecommunications standard thatpermits the addition of high-speed data transfer to an existing cable TV(CATV) system. DOCSIS is constantly being revised and upgraded based onchanging needs. For example, DOCSIS was once revised because ofincreased demand for symmetrical services such as IF telephony in orderto provide enhanced upstream transmission speeds, and was more recentlyrevised to significantly increase transmission speeds (this time bothupstream and downstream) and to introduce support for Internet Protocolversion 6 (IPv6). However, these revisions and other changes to thefirmware installed in cable modems require instantiation of a system tomanage software upgrades.

DOCSIS management software automates the discovery and inventorymanagement of DOCSIS devices by maintaining a centralized inventory ofDOCSIS devices and automatically detecting newly provisioned devices,validating firmware versions and upgrading, if needed. DOCSIS managementsoftware is implemented by software installed on the CMTS and typicallydoes not require any other service or software download installed on thecable modem in the borne or business. Accordingly, cable modems for usewith coaxial cable networks that are installed in user's locationtypically do not include a large memory and/or a powerful processor forimplementing software management since software management functionstypically are performed by the DOCSIS management software at the CMTS.

In contrast, fiber networks also are used to provide bundled Internetaccess, telephone services, and television services over a fiber-opticcommunications network. Low-loss fiber optic cables carry a signal forseveral miles before needing a repeater while signal losses are high incoaxial cable. Additionally, fiber optic cables carry far moreinformation than coaxial cables. A fiber optic system can carry up to 10gigabits per second while coaxial cable is limited to only 250 megabitsper second. Accordingly, some systems are transitioning to fiber opticnetworks to manage the increased data demands of a typical household.

In a typical installation, a single-mode optical fiber extends from anoptical line terminal at a fiber optic services (FIOS) central officeout to neighborhoods, where a passive optical splitter fans out the samesignal on up to 32 fibers, thus serving up to 32 sites or “subscribers.”At a subscriber's location, an optical network terminal (ONT) transfersdata onto the corresponding in-home copper wiring for phone, video, andInternet access. Typical FIOS installations mount the ONT inside thelocation and use a category five cable for data and coaxial cable forvideo. Voice service is carried over the existing telephone wiresalready in the building.

Although fiber optic network can use existing wiring hardware forproviding data services, a problem occurs in managing software for theexisting cable modem that had been implementing the DOCSIS standard.Fiber optic networks are setup to use a server that provides updates tothe cable modem using a fiber optic update management client installedon the cable modem. However, as stated earlier, DOCSIS based cablemodems typically do not have a large memory and a powerful processor tostore and implement such an update management client.

What is needed, therefore, is a system and method for updating softwarein a network device implementing the DOCSIS standard following atransition from a coaxial cable network to a fiber-optic network.

What is further needed is such a system and method configured tofacilitate ongoing remote updating of firmware in a telecommunicationnetwork device following a transition from a coaxial cable network to afiber-optic network.

SUMMARY

According to one embodiment of the invention, one or more of theabove-identified needs are met by providing a telecommunication networkdevice for implementing the DOCSIS standard during a transition from acoaxial cable network to a fiber-optic network. The device includes amemory including installed firmware for implementing a telecommunicationgateway function in accordance with the DOCSIS telecommunicationstandard and a processor configured to update the installed firmware bydownloading the update from a first TFTP server over a coaxial cablenetwork. The processor is further configured to update the installedfirmware by downloading the update from a second TFTP server over afiber-optic network.

In one embodiment, the processor is configured to update the installedfirmware by downloading the update from the second TFTP server based ona transition from the coaxial cable network to the fiber-optic network.The processor may be configured to detect the transition from thecoaxial cable network to the fiber-optic network based upon receivedtelecommunication data.

In yet another embodiment, the processor is configured to update theinstalled firmware by downloading the update from the second TFTP serverbased on a command received from a TR-069 server. The received commandmay include a file address of the firmware update on the second TFTPserver. Further, the processor may be configured to transmit anacknowledgement to the TR-069 server following the update of theinstalled firmware from the second TFTP server.

According to another aspect of the invention, a computer implementedmethod for implementing the DOCSIS standard during a transition from acoaxial cable network to a fiber-optic network is disclosed. The methodincludes transmitting and receiving telecommunication data in accordancewith the DOCSIS telecommunication standard under the control of softwareinstalled in a memory of a network device, updating the installedfirmware by downloading an update from a first TFTP server over acoaxial cable network, and updating the installed firmware bydownloading the update from a second TFTP server over a fiber-opticnetwork.

According to another aspect of the invention, a telecommunicationnetwork device for implementing the DOCSIS standard during a transitionfrom a coaxial cable network to a fiber-optic network is described. Thedevice includes a memory including installed firmware for implementing atelecommunication gateway function in accordance with the DOCSIStelecommunication standard and additionally includes a processorconfigured to update the installed firmware by downloading the updatefrom a TR-069 server over a fiber-optic network.

Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent tothose skilled in the art upon review of the following detaileddescription and drawings in which like numerals are used to designatelike features.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a networking environment for providingtelecommunication services to a location, according to an exemplaryembodiment;

FIG. 2 schematically illustrates a network device implementing theDOCSIS standard configured for updating software in the network devicefollowing a transition from a coaxial cable network to a fiber-opticnetwork, according to an exemplary embodiment; and

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a method for updating software in anetwork device implementing the DOCSIS standard following a transitionfrom a coaxial cable network to a fiber-optic network, according to anexemplary embodiment.

Before the embodiments of the invention are explained in detail, it isto be understood that the invention is not limited in its application tothe details of construction and the arrangement of the components setforth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. Theinvention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced orbeing carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that thephraseology and terminology used herein are for the purpose ofdescription and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of“including” and “comprising” and variations thereof is meant toencompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well asadditional items and equivalents thereof.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring now to FIG. 1, a networking environment 100 for providingtelecommunication services to a location through a network device 114 isshown, according to an exemplary embodiment. The location will mosttypically comprise a home or a business located in a standalone ormulti-unit facility. The terms “home”, “business”, and “location” areall used synonymously herein.

The telecommunication services and updates to the firmware implementingthe telecommunication services may be provided to the location evenduring a transition from a coaxial cable network to a fiber-opticnetwork. Although environment 100 is shown as including specificcomponents in communication with each other according to a specificconfiguration, it should be understood that the environment 100 mayinclude different components and/or a different configuration ofcomponents to implement the functionality described herein.

Network device 114 may be any device configured to manage the flow ofdata to, from, and/or between telecommunication devices on a homenetwork using communication with an external network. According to anexemplary embodiment, network device 114 may be a cable modem.Functionality described herein as being associated with network device114 may be implemented using one or more devices. For example, networkdevice 114 may be configured to include a router in communication with anetwork switch, either of which can be configured to perform some or allof the functions described herein. Network device 114 may further beimplemented using a plurality of network devices in communication witheach other, such as a wireless access point in communication with agateway router. One exemplary embodiment of network device 114 is theDOCSIS 3.0/EURODOCSIS 3.0 Wireless-N-Voice/Data Cable Gatewaymanufactured by Netgear, Inc. of San Jose, Calif.

Telecommunication network device 114 is configured to forwardinformation, such as data packets, between the computers within the homeor business environment and/or with one or more of systems 102-112.Network device 114 is further configured to forward voice and/ortelevision data to devices within the home or business. Network device114 is configured to perform the telecommunication distributionfunctions in accordance with the DOCSIS standard. Accordingly, networkdevice 114 may be configured to provide voice, television and Internetaccess services based on communication with cable modem terminationsystem 110 in an initial configuration.

Referring now to FIG. 2, an embodiment of network device 114 is shown ingreater detail, according to an exemplary embodiment. Although device114 is shown in FIG. 2 as including specific components in exemplaryconfigurations, it is important to recognize that device 114 may includemore, fewer, and/or a different configuration of components to implementthe functions described herein.

Components of the network device 114 include a coaxial cable input port210 receiving information from an external network, such as from a cablemodem termination system, a telephone output port 212 configured toprovide telephony data to an in-home telephone network, a wired networkdata port 214 configured to provide network data services through acoupled Ethernet cable, and a wireless network data port 212 configureto provide network data service through an antenna using, for example, aWiFi communication protocol. Device 114 may include additional, fewer,and/or a different configuration of components to implement thetelecommunication functions described herein.

The functional components of network device 114 may be implemented usinghardware including a processor 202, a system memory 204, and a systembus (not shown) that couples various system components, including thesystem memory 204, to the processor 202. The system bus may be any ofseveral types of bus structures including a memory bus or a memorycontroller, a peripheral bus, and a local bus using any of a variety ofbus architectures. Further, the described components may be implementedusing hardware and/or software.

The processor 202 of device 114 may be any type of computer processorconfigured to implement the functionality described herein including thesteps of sending and receiving telecommunication data to and from anexternal network and one or more telecommunication devices in the home.The processing unit may be a MIPS, ARM, x86, or other processor as areknown in the art or later developed.

The system memory 204 of device 114 includes computer storage media inthe form of volatile and/or nonvolatile memory such as read only memory(ROM) and random access memory (RAM). A basic input/output system(BIOS), containing the basic routines that help to transfer informationbetween elements within device 114, such as during start-up ornetworking operations, is typically stored in ROM. RAM typicallycontains data and/or program modules that are immediately accessible toand/or presently being operated on by the processing unit. The device114 may also include other removable/non-removable, volatile/nonvolatilecomputer storage media, such as flash memory.

Although network device 120 may be any of a variety of types of networkdevices, for clarity device 114 is further described herein withreference to a router-type network device configured to facilitatecommunication of telecommunication data according to the DOCSIScommunication standard. Accordingly, memory 204 is configured to includeDOCSIS firmware 206 including applications and data implemented inaccordance with the DOCSIS standard. Exemplary applications may includefirmware to control the operation of the device 120, network securityapplications, such as a firewall implementation, network addresstranslation, a network filtering application, etc.

Memory 204 further includes a network transition application 208configured to facilitate updating software in network device 114following a transition from a coaxial cable network to a fiber-opticnetwork. The software may include computer instructions executable bythe processor 202 to reconfigure the operation of DOCSIS firmware 206following the transition. Network transition application 208 may beconfigured to receive an input from an operator indicative of thetransition and/or may be configured to automatically detect thetransition based on the data received as an input to device 114.

Referring again to FIG. 1, cable modem termination system (CMTS) 110 isconfigured to be a component in a hybrid fiber-coaxial (HFC)infrastructure. CMTS 110 sends and receives data to and from the networkdevice 114 and routes it to an Internet service provider (ISP) forconnection to the Internet. CMTS 110 may be implemented using a routerspecifically configured to communicate with a HFC cable network via acable modem card. CMTS 110 is further configured to provide softwareupgrade services in conjunction with a provisioning server 102 and atrivial file transfer protocol (TFTP) server 104. TFTP is a simple filetransfer protocol used for downloading boot code to diskless systems.Device 114 is configured to communicate with CMTS 110, provisioningserver 102 and TFTP server 104 through a coaxial cable network 116.Although shown as separate components in this exemplary embodiment, oneor both of provisioning server 102 and TFTP server 104 may beimplemented as components of the CMTS 110. Although shown as differentservers, TFTP server 104 and TFTP server 108 may the same softwareallowing use of the same software to perform the software download.

Optical Network Unit (ONU) 112 is configured to be a component of afiber-optic communication network. ONU 112 sends and receives data toand from the network device 114 and routes it to an Internet serviceprovider (ISP) for connection to the Internet, similar to CMTS 110. CMTS110 is also further configured to provide software upgrade services inconjunction with a TR-069 server 106 and a trivial file transferprotocol (TFTP) server 108. TR-069 (Technical Report 069) is a technicalspecification that defines an application layer protocol for remotemanagement of end-user devices and is described in further detail in theattached Appendix. The specification dictates the communication betweencustomer-premises equipment (CPE), such as network device 114, and AutoConfiguration Servers (ACS), such as TR-069 server 106. The TR-069standard was developed for automatic configuration of these devices withAuto Configuration Servers (ACS). It is important to recognize thatupdating the firmware based on a command received from the TR-069 server106, as described herein, is contrary to the normal operation of theTR-069 server.

During normal TR-069 operation, all communications and operations areperformed in the scope of a provisioning session. The session is alwaysstarted by the device and begins with the transmission of an Informmessage. Its reception and readiness of the server for the session isindicated by an InformResponse message. The order of the next two stagesdepends on the value of a holdRequests flag in the InformResponsemessage. If the value is false, the initialization stage is followed bythe transmission of device requests, otherwise ACS orders aretransmitted first.

In the second stage, orders are transmitted from the device to the ACS.Even though the protocol defines multiple methods that may be invoked bythe device on the ACS, only one is commonly found—TransferComplete. Thisstage is finalized by transmission of the empty HTTP-request to the ACS.

In the third stage, the roles change on the CPE WAN Management Protocol(CWMP) level. The HTTP-response for the query by the device will containa CWMP-request from the ACS. This will subsequently be followed by anHTTP-request containing a CWMP-response for the previous CWMP-request.Multiple orders may be transmitted one-by-one. This stage (and the wholeprovisioning session) is terminated by an empty HTTP-response indicatingthat no more orders are pending.

Referring again to FIG. 1, network device 114 is configured tocommunicate with ONU 112, TR-069 server 106 and TFTP server 108 througha fiber-optic network 118 to modify the above described protocol.Although shown as separate components in this exemplary embodiment, oneor both of TR-069 server 106 and TFTP server 108 may be implemented ascomponents of the ONU 112.

Referring now to FIG. 3, a flowchart 300 illustrating an exemplarymethod for updating software in a network device implementing the DOCSISstandard following a transition from a coaxial cable network to afiber-optic network is shown. The method of flowchart 300 may beimplemented using network device 114 and/or other devices in environment100 and may also include MOM, fewer, and/or a different configuration ofsteps to achieve the functionality described herein.

In a first step 302, operation of network device 114 is initiated.Network device 114 may be initiated during an initial power up, afterwaking from sleep state, after a period of inactivity, based on anelapsed time etc. Following initiation, a configuration file isdownloaded by network device 114 in a step 304. The configuration filemay be instantiated during an initial use of the network device 114 andonly downloaded thereafter based on a change in the information includedin the configuration file. Using the information the configuration file,network device 114 is provided with the address of the TFTP server 104configured to provide the firmware controlling the operation of theprocessor 202.

In a step 306, network device 114 first authenticates itself with theprovisioning server 102, shown in FIG. 1. Authentication includes selfidentifying hardware, installed software, system protocols, requiringthat the MAC address to be confirmed to be in the MSO database and thecertificate on board to be valid, etc. to fully inform the provisioningserver 102. Thereafter, device 114 accesses the FTP server 104 todownload new firmware based upon instructions received from provisioningserver 202. Accordingly, using the steps 302-306, device 114 isconfigured to automatically update software installed on network device114 in accordance with the DOCSIS standard over the coaxial cablenetwork 116 based on instructions received from the provisioning server102.

At some point, during utilization of the network device 114, it maybecome necessary to transfer network device 114 from the coaxial cablenetwork 116 to the fiber-optic network 118. Advantageously, device 114is configured to be able to operate and implement updates to thefirmware stored in memory 204 independent of the transition from thecoaxial cable network 116 to the fiber-optic network 118. According toan exemplary embodiment, network device 114 may be configured to includea translator configured to receive TR-069 based messages and convertthem to the DOCSIS based Management Information Base (MIB) commands.Accordingly, in a step 308, a field technician removes the coaxial cableinput line and connects network device 114 network input port 210 to afiber-optic based modern. Device 114 may be configured to automaticallydetect the change based on the data received at the input port 210 ormay receive an input from the technician indicating the change.

According to this exemplary embodiment, device 114 continues operatingnormally independent of the transition from the coaxial cable network116 to fiber optic network 118. Both systems, TR-069 and Docsis havePUSH or PULL mechanisms to drive firmware updates. The authenticationsdiffer in that Docsis has a tighter and more secure method (overkillmethod) and TR-069 can be setup to be flexible or very secure. Normaloperation includes provision of telecommunication data independent ofthe transition from the coaxial cable network 116 to the fiber-opticnetwork 118. In other words, device 114 is configured to operatesubstantially the same independent of the transition during normaloperation.

However, at some point in time, an update to the DOCSIS firmware 206stored in memory 204 of the network device 114 will be implemented toimplement a bug fix, to implement a new feature, to upgrade softwarefunctionality, etc. However, as described above, fiber optic networksand their associated servers are not configured to implement softwareupdates using a provisioning server 102, as is typically done with acoaxial cable network 116.

Accordingly, following the transition, in a step 310, the TR-069 server106 initiates to force a download to network device 114 and provides theaddress of the new TFTP server 108 to the network device 114.Essentially, the TR-069 server 106 commands the network device 114 toaccept a download from the TFTP server 108 similar to the stepimplemented by the provisioning server 102. However, this type ofoperation is atypical for a TR-069 server 106. Network device 114 isconfigured to store the received address within memory 204, the receivedaddress including a file location on the TFTP server 108.

In a step 312, network device 114 accesses TFTP server 108 to downloadnew firmware based on the received command from the TR-069 server 106because the network device 114 does not include enough memory to installand implement a TR-069 client. Accordingly, the TR-069 protocol ismodified to include providing instructions in the TR-069 messaging toinstruction the network device 114 to access the TFTP server 110 toimplement the firmware update. In conjunction with the download of thenew firmware, new device 114 is configured to transmit theacknowledgment to the TR-069 server when the download completes.

Certain terminology is used herein for purposes of reference only, andthus is not intended to be limiting. For example, terms such as “networkdevice” refer to any system receiving and retransmitting informationpackets in a computer network. Examples can include a network router, anetwork switch, a wireless access point, a gateway router, etc.

References to “a processor” can be understood to include one or morecontrollers or processors that can communicate in a stand-alone and/or adistributed environment(s), and can thus be configured to communicatevia wired or wireless communications with other processors, where suchone or more processor can be configured to operate on one or moreprocessor-controlled devices that can be similar or different devices.Furthermore, references to memory, unless otherwise specified, caninclude one or more processors and accessible memory elements and/orcomponents that can be internal to the processor-controlled device,external to the processor-controlled device, and can be accessed via awired or wireless network. It should be understood that a computerprogram may embrace constituent programs and that multiple programs maybe implemented as a single or multiple programs.

Various features of the invention are set forth in the following claims.It should be understood that the invention is not limited in itsapplication to the details of construction and arrangements of thecomponents set forth herein. The invention is capable of otherembodiments and of being practiced or carried out in various ways.Variations and modifications of the foregoing are within the scope ofthe present invention. It also being understood that the inventiondisclosed and defined herein extends to all alternative combinations oftwo or more of the individual features mentioned or evident from thetext and/or drawings. All of these different combinations constitutevarious alternative aspects of the present invention. The embodimentsdescribed herein explain the best modes known for practicing theinvention and will enable others skilled in the art to utilize theinvention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A telecommunication network device forimplementing the Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification(DOCSIS) standard during a transition from a coaxial cable network to afiber-optic network, the network comprising: a memory includinginstalled firmware for implementing a telecommunication gateway functionin accordance with the DOCSIS telecommunication standard; and aprocessor configured to first update the installed firmware bydownloading the update from a first, trivial file transfer protocol(TFTP) server over a coaxial cable network, wherein the update downloadis managed by a provisioning server through a cable modem terminationsystem connecting the network device to the coaxial cable network,wherein the processor is further configured to second update theinstalled firmware by downloading the update from a second TFTP serverover a fiber-optic network, wherein the update download is managed by aremote server through an optical network unit connecting the networkdevice to the fiber optic network, wherein the processor is configuredto update the installed firmware by downloading the update from thesecond TFTP server based on a transition from the coaxial cable networkto the fiber-optic network.
 2. The network device of claim 1, whereinthe processor is configured to detect the transition from the coaxialcable network to the fiber-optic network based upon receivedtelecommunication data.
 3. The network device of claim 1, wherein theprocessor is configured to update the installed firmware by downloadingthe update from the second TFTP server based on a command received fromthe remote server, wherein the remote server a TR-069 server.
 4. Thenetwork device of claim 3, wherein the received command includes a fileaddress of the firmware update on the second TFTP server.
 5. The networkdevice of claim 4, wherein the processor is configured to transmit anacknowledgement to the TR-069 server following the update of theinstalled firmware from the second TFTP server.
 6. A computerimplemented method for implementing the Data Over Cable ServiceInterface Specification (DOCSIS) standard during a transition from acoaxial cable network to a fiber-optic network, the method comprising:transmitting and receiving telecommunication data in accordance with theDOCSIS telecommunication standard in accordance with software installedin memory of a network device; updating the installed firmware by firstdownloading an update from a first trivial file transfer protocol (TFTP)server over a coaxial cable network, wherein the update download ismanaged by a provisioning server through a cable modem terminationsystem connecting the network device to the coaxial cable network; andupdating the installed firmware by second downloading the update from asecond TFTP server over a fiber-optic network, wherein the updatedownload is managed by a remote server through an optical network unitconnecting the network device to the fiber optic network, wherein theprocessor is configured to update the installed firmware by downloadingthe update from the second TFTP server based on a transition from thecoaxial cable network to the fiber-optic network.
 7. The method of claim6, wherein the processor is configured to detect the transition from thecoaxial cable network to the fiber-optic network based upon receivedtelecommunication data.
 8. The method of claim 6, wherein the processoris configured to update the installed firmware by downloading the updatefrom the second TFTP server based on a command received from the remoteserver, wherein the remote server is a TR-069 server.
 9. The method ofclaim 8, wherein the received command includes a file address of thefirmware update on the second TFTP server.
 10. The method of claim 8,wherein the processor is configured to transmit an acknowledgement tothe TR-069 server following the update of the installed firmware fromthe second TFTP server.
 11. A telecommunication network device forimplementing the Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification(DOCSIS) standard during a transition from a coaxial cable network to afiber-optic network, the network device comprising: a memory includinginstalled firmware for implementing a telecommunication gateway functionin accordance with the DOCSIS telecommunication standard; and aprocessor configured to update the installed firmware by downloading theupdate from a TR-069 server over a fiber-optic network based on atransition from the coaxial cable network to the fiber-optic network,wherein the update download is managed by the TR-069 server through anoptical network unit connecting the network device to the fiber opticnetwork.
 12. The device of claim 11, wherein the processor is configuredto update the installed firmware by downloading the update from theTR-069 server based on a command received from an operator.
 13. Thedevice of claim 11, wherein the received command includes a file addressof the firmware update on the TR-069 server.
 14. The device of claim 11,wherein the processor is configured to transmit an acknowledgement tothe TR-069 server following the update of the installed firmware fromthe TR-069 server.